Post on reading assignment for chapters 3 and 4 from Vocal Technique by Julia Davids and Stephen LaTour and  chapter 5 from Teaching singing to children and young adults by Jenevora Williams.

Comments/ A-ha moments:

1) In the book by Davids it talks about your soft palate in chapter 4 about resonance. I found it interesting to read about having an inner smile while you sing to lift the soft palate. I have experienced this concept while studying clarinet in university. In order for clarinettists to make sure air does not leak and to ensure they have a good focused tone we think of the inner smile while we play to close the soft palate. I was surprised to see that it is the same concept with singing.

2) In the book by Williams, I was fascinated to learn about how many times the vocal chords collide to create a certain frequency. The example they use is if you sing a middle C then the folds are colliding about 260 times a second. I would have never guessed that they collide so many times in just one second.

Questions:

1) The book by Davids goes pretty in depth about the vocal anatomy and gives detailed explanations of how singing works. When would a teacher introduce these concepts to the their student? Would you just keep it simple for them and teach them the basics of how to create sound and resonance?

2) In the book by Williams it has a section on vocal chords. It speaks about elongating the vocal folds to raise pitch and increasing the force of collision of the vocal folds to change loudness. How would you explain this concept to students? This is something that I don't think they will grasp right away. What are some healthy ways to explain these same concepts so they don't damage their vocal folds?